MINOR DETAIL BY ADANIA SHOBLI(TRANSLATED FROM THE ARABIC BY ELIZABETH JAQUETTE)

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BOOK NAME: MINOR DETAIL

AUTHOR NAME: ADANIA SHIBLI (translated from the Arabic by ELIZABETH JAQUETTE)

GENRE: POLITICAL NOVELLA

PUBLISHER: FITZCARRAKDO EDITIONS (PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE)

BOOK BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.in/Minor-Detail-Adania-Shibli/dp/191309717X


BOOK COVER IMAGE





BOOK REVIEW

I would love to wish you all a "happy" women's day with this post, but quite a few incidents have happened recently, which prevents me from doing so. With the current state of children, women and the overall population in Palestine, I could hardly acknowledge the day when the world is left to watch the genocide silently. To add to the woes, the news of a Russian traveller who was gang-raped by a few men when she visited India circulated last week. The comments section of her post was sickening because she was preached by women (sadly) about dressing appropriately to avoid inviting men. Just as I blinked in frustration, another incident occurred just a few kilometers away from where I live that shook me. The news of a nine-year-old child who was gang-raped and murdered a couple of days ago by 6 men, including a relative, has stunned my UT in a bandh today seeking justice. Coincidentally, this book is no different from what's happening around me. This book is a sad reminder that some things don't change for women even after a hundred years of fight and struggle.


Minor detail is a two-part novella narrated with contrasting voices and point of views. The first part is conveyed in the third person narrative about an Israeli soldier who is in command in Negev, Palestine, in 1949. He and his subordinates capture a young Bedouin girl, and abuse and rape her before murdering her. The events are narrated with the same nonchalance as explaining his daily habits, like bathing, eating and moving around in his room. 


The second part happens in the present, in Ramella, exactly 25 years after the death of the Bedouin girl, when an unnamed protagonist is intrigued by the events that occurred in Negev in 1949. She moves out in search of the hidden truth to give voice to the voiceless and, in the process, gets caught in a trap herself. 


This is one of those influential books that made me regret not picking them up earlier. This 112-page novella is packed with such intense and evocative storytelling that it becomes hard to put it down. I was amazed by how the two parts were narrated with completely contrasting voices - the first part oozed power and arrogance, while the second part screamed anxiety, agony and vulnerability. I couldn't help but gasp with surprise when the author mixed humour in the most painful situations, like how she went on a rant about hating gritty sand particles that disturb her writing process when the building was being bombed and saying the uniform of the officer must belong to the museum as he did not scrutinise her as much as done by others. I mean, it was her way of expressing the habituation of Palestinians to Israeli occupation and atrocities over the years, and it was mind-blowing. The indifference with which rape, murder and bombings were described like daily routines such as reading a newspaper, bathing and cleaning a wound made me realise the purpose behind the title and the book.


This unique novella deserves all the attention and is a must-read for its honest commentary on colonialism and war crimes and its powerful and reminiscent storytelling.



MY REVIEW: 5/5 

This is a part of Blogchatter’s #TBRchallenge

#penbooksandscalpel

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